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FotoMagico

11

04 / 2016

by Sydnie

In Flight with FotoMagico

When Vancouver-based Jack Pickell retired after 45+ years in the business world, he was relieved to find that he had plenty of time to pursue his passion – photography. Pursuing this hobby for the past 15 years has only enhanced his keen eye for naturally beautiful landscapes. He now showcases all of his beautiful work using FotoMagico.

“My photography has taught me not to just look at the world around me but to truly see the world in all its beauty,” says Jack. “I have tried to capture that beauty with my images.”

Though Jack appreciates different types of photography, his focus remains on nature and landscapes. This doesn’t mean he shoots exclusively landscapes, however! For Jack’s first slideshow with FotoMagico, he chose to feature another of his firsts, photos of aircraft in flight.

“I love the high quality of the FotoMagico slide show when I use smooth and seamless transitions such as, fade, pan and zoom,” says Jack. “I also love the ability to easily add music. The ease of use is probably the biggest benefit of using FotoMagico.”

Since this was Jack’s first experience with putting his photos into a slideshow, it was incredibly helpful to have an easy to follow, straightforward workflow that still provided professional results.

Additionally, Jack is a member of the Pacific Digital Photography Club, an organization that strives to provide its members with a unique learning environment. Each November, PDPC produces “Photomotion,” a compilation of members’ digital slideshows, many of which are produced with FotoMagico.

After using the program, Jack says that he is planning on submitting one, if not more slideshows using FotoMagico for consideration at the upcoming November 2016 event. We wish him the best of luck!

For more of Jack’s photography, check out his website, www.tripodart.ca.

iStopMotion for Mac

01

04 / 2016

by Sydnie

Kate’s Creative Catalyst: iStopMotion

Australia based illustrator and artist Kate Churchward believes in the importance of details, something that is plain to see when viewing her intricate and whimsical work. Having recently become interested in stop motion animation, Kate looked to examples made with iStopMotion for inspiration and thus was bitten by the animation bug.

Kate’s first clip with iStopMotion came together quickly; she drew a character and pulled some 3D objects from around the house until a story came together. For her second clip, she started with a storyboard, listing important elements of the story and key effects.

“The beauty of stop motion animation is that you can play or plan in whatever approach to the creative process that works for you,” she says.

Kate adds that the intuitiveness of the app has only helped her creativity flourish, noting that the stock sound effects of iStopMotion have encouraged her to further explore all the possibilities that the software has to offer.

Kate says, “As an illustrator, music and sound is not something I’m used to dealing with, so it was heaps of fun to use the sound effects and sound tracks on the fly during the editing process.”

Citing the hands-on nature of stop motion animation as the catalyst to her creativity, Kate loves the feeling of connectedness to her work through building sets and characters.

“Stop motion appeals to me for a few reasons,” says Kate. “Conceptually, anything goes! The storytelling possibilities are basically limitless and reach across 2D and 3D, so it’s a wonderful medium to really engage your imagination and express your ideas.”

Though the technical aspects of stop motion may seem daunting at first, Kate assures that they are very easy to pick up. Learning comes naturally from one project to the next, which Kate describes as “addictive.”

As for future projects, Kate has several ideas on the drawing board. If her past work is any indicator of what’s to come, we will be eagerly waiting to see what comes next!

To see more of Kate’s illustration work, click here!

BoinxTV mimoLive Education

22

03 / 2016

by Sydnie

Marvelous mimoLive Plays Well at Varsity Hockey Tournament

After taking over the video program at Brookings High, digital specialist Brad Nupen was left with a low quality stream setup and was unhappy with the overall look of his broadcasts and began considering his options. Queue BoinxTV!

Brad says, “I really enjoyed the immediate results of the broadcast-ready templates for my students and the relative simplicity in setting up.”

When the news broke that BoinxTV was to undergo some cosmetic and technical changes, Brad was eager to see what was in store. As BoinxTV evolved and took on the new moniker, mimoLive, Brad instantly saw the impact of the updated software.

“The quality of the image, the ability to add graphics and the ease and stability of the streaming really demonstrated that mimoLive is going to be a contender in the live streaming arena,” says Brad.

Once better acquainted with the program, Brad decided it was time to see what mimoLive could really do at the Brookings High state boy’s varsity hockey tournament.

Brad explains, “I was a bit nervous because there were people from across the state that would be tuning in and watching it at a later date, and I wanted to have the best quality possible. I was not disappointed with mimoLive! The broadcast went on without any problems. I was able to follow the live action using the monitor on mimoLive as my secondary camera monitor.”

Since the students are the big users of mimoLive in Brad’s classroom, he is eager to integrate more student-produced works such as commercials, short movies and more into the live streaming broadcasts. With mimoLive, Brad can see clearly just how to make that happen.

To see how Brad and his students flawlessly captured the boy’s varsity hockey tournament, click here.

FotoMagico

16

03 / 2016

by Sydnie

From Ham Radio to FotoMagico

Ray Thompson is no novice when it comes to communications, technology and photography. Whether it is founding Abilene Christian College’s first radio station, KACC, bringing his knowledge of Morse code to the United States Air Force or being an early adapter of computers in the 20th century, Ray attributes his early love of tech to his first hobby: ham radio.

While in Southern Germany with the U.S. Air Force, Ray picked up photography as a hobby and then later found a way to merge this with his love of computers.

“I love photography—in a technical way,” says Ray. “I am proficient in Photoshop and Lightroom, and I enjoy sharing my photographs with my real family, my Facebook family, my Apple Corps family and my church family.”

Once discharged from the Air Force, Ray decided on a career in electronics, which ultimately led him to Collins Radio Company (which later became a part of Rockwell International). Then, when he was the engineering technical writer, Ray was promoted to manager of publications engineering and later he moved into logistics engineering and lifecycle cost analysis because of his fascination with computers.

It was at this time that Ray purchased one of the very first Apple II computers in 1978 and became one of the founding members of the Apple Corps of Dallas, the oldest Mac Users Group in the U.S., and he hasn’t missed many of the monthly meetings since!

At 85 years old, Ray is the only remaining founding member and serves as the co-chair of the VisionsSIG, where members are encouraged to become involved with photography, videos and graphics. Among his group, Ray is the FotoMagico guru and loves teaching others to use and enjoy the app. He even started a public Facebook group, FotoMagico Fans, which has over 150 members!

Ray says, “I believe FotoMagico gives me an ‘edge’ in presenting my photographs and videos. Most of my audiences have no idea how I create my presentations. They don’t ‘get’ photographs as video, and their wonder and admiration are the fruit of my limited ability as a photographer. A few are curious enough to ask, and I invite them to our VisionsSIG to learn for themselves, but most just enjoy the show!”

Ray’s enthusiasm for photography and technology is contagious, and we can’t wait to see what else he applies his FotoMagico skills to! To see more of Ray’s FotoMagico work, click here.

iStopMotion for Mac

08

03 / 2016

by Sydnie

The Birth of a Star Wars BB-8 Droid

Have you ever wondered how a Star Wars BB-8 droid is born? Hint: According to our Youtuber friend leoand1, it starts with a golf ball and some magical sand! For this video, leoand1 used iStopMotion to trick the eye into seeing a golf ball transform into a small BB-8 droid model.

leoand1 often uses iStopMotion to create the impossible with technology, whether it’s making a moving iPhone 5 out of clay, using Play-Doh to “destroy” an old Nokia or sending a Nexus tablet to the future. Be sure to take a look at their channel for some great ideas on all the ways you can morph clay and household items into something brand new!